October Important Dates

Columbus Day – No School         10/13

Scholastic Orders Due                 10/15

Early Dismissal at 11:30a.m.       10/24

Monthly Projects Due                  10/31

End of 1^st Quarter                       10/31

Halloween Party                         10/31

Terra Nova Testing: October 6 – October 9

Next week your child will take the Terra Nova Tests. These tests will begin on Monday, October 6^th and end on Thursday, October 10^th. These standardized tests will be a new experience for the children. Below you will find a list of suggestions and accommodations for your child to help make this testing process as best as it can be.

·        Your child may bring in a healthy treat and a small bottle of water. Suggestions for a healthy treat include fruits, vegetables, or granola bar. Please no candy.  Remember this is only a snack, not a full meal.

·        There will not be a reading, grammar, or spelling unit this week. Therefore no weekly tests to prepare for.

·        The only homework for the week will be to get plenty of rest!

·        A good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast will ensure a successful testing experience for your child.

·        The testing will begin promptly at 8:10a.m. Please make sure your child arrives to school on time.

·        The entire school will follow “Quiet Hours” for most of the morning. 

If you have any questions or concerns about the Terra Nova Tests, please feel free to contact one of us. This will be a new experience but we are confident that the kids will do just fine. We will take a practice test and will review the testing procedures at length.  Thank you in advance for your support at home!

October Sight Words

1. must
2. new
3. no
4. now
5. on
6. our
7. out
8. please
9. pretty
10. ran
11. ride
12. saw
13. say
14. she
15. so
16. soon
17. that
18. there
19. they
20. too

October News

    Hello! Hope all is well with everyone. I can’t believe that we have already finished our first full month of school. We have had some rough patches with our behavior but I am happy to report that we are making progress. I am confident that we will continue to improve and have a great year in 2^nd grade. Please take some time to review the importance of listening and following directions in school as well as being kind to others. I would like to thank you in advance for your support at home of my policies here at school. Your help is very much appreciated and very helpful to your student’s progress at school.

          Next week, October 6 – October 10, the 2^ND graders will be taking the Terra Nova tests. Attached to this packet you will find a handout describing the testing procedures in greater detail. These tests will be a new experience for the students. The best thing to do at home in preparation for these tests is to ensure that your child has a good night’s sleep and has a  healthy breakfast each morning.   Please note that due to testing there will NOT be a spelling, reading, or grammar test next week.

          Those of you who have ordered Scholastic books this month there was a problem with the order. Please don’t worry but they will be on their way shortly.

          During the month of September the weekly reading tests were read out loud to the kids. This was done to help ease the students into the tests. This month the kids will be required to read the tests on their own. We started preparing for this last week, in that I read the questions and the students were asked to read the answer choices on their own. If you were surprised by your child’s grade this past week, this may be the reason.  The students need to work on taking their time and reading each answer choice carefully and if they are unsure they should read it again. I plan on working on this test taking skill this week in preparation for the reading test. Please encourage this at home. Thank You!

          At the end of the month we will have our first classroom party to celebrate Halloween. Students are welcome to dress up and bring in treats for this party. However, there must be enough for all students and they must be individually wrapped. The kids will have the opportunity to “trick or treat” around the classroom. These treats will be passed out and sent home. The room moms will provide treats for the classroom party. More information about the party will be given closer to the date. Please note that we have a total of 23 students who will be participating in our classroom party.

          That is it for now. Please continue to sign and check your child’s take home notebook for announcements as many of them do come up throughout the month. Also, please clean out your child’s folder every night. This will be very helpful to their organizational skills. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great month!